E-Free

Publishers and independent thinkers in many areas of the book business are beginning to look at digital versus print reading in terms of the value proposition for readers, libraries and publishers themselves. The perception and behavior of consumers will determine values in e-books and digital reading environments, and publishers ignore this reality at their own peril.

How can publishers adapt without completely gutting their product?

One idea he champions, and I second, is granting buyers of printed books free access to the e-version (in the same way that a subscription to the print version of this magazine gives you access to the online edition). Free is not a viable price point for all digital content, but in this case it reflects the reader’s desire to access material in multiple environments without having to pay extra. I like the notion of being able to pull up the book I’m reading on my iPhone if I’ve forgotten the physical copy at home (because when do I read on my iPhone? When I’ve forgotten my book). And I think that this two-for-one approach could be a huge incentive for consumers to purchase physical books.

Elsewhere on TeleRead, Rich Adin sets forth a proposal for twenty-first-century publishing that strikes me as unattractive: he thinks books should be presented in just two formats, hardback and e-book, and that paperbacks should be abolished, thereby eliminating a publisher’s backlist and allowing it not to “compete against itself,” meaning the price point will be higher. A commenter says it all:

I believe in giving the customer what he wants how he wants it, and killing the paperback would accomplish absolutely nothing. Or worse.

If a hardback, audio, and ebook are all I have to choose from, I’ll go to the library.

Completely. This revolution is about, as Wilk writes, “the perception and behavior of consumers.” Publishers should be thinking about adding attractive options (free e-edition with purchase), rather than taking away a format many readers love.

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